US private equity firm the Carlyle Group yesterday announced it will invest US$20 million in Time Share Advertising & Communications (TSM), one of the largest outdoor media companies in China.

TSM is the nation's first outdoor media company to provide low-cost advertising using idle outdoor billboard space across the country.

"This is our second investment in China's out-of-home media advertising space after Focus Media. We are confident of continued exceptional growth in this segment," said Carlyle's Asia Growth Capital Group Managing Director Wayne Tsou, who declined to reveal further financial details.

Carlyle is also impressed by TSM's innovations since it was established last year. TSM has so far set up 36 branch offices in provincial capital cities across China.

The company provides a nationwide platform to tap into the highly fragmented outdoor billboard market, which has almost 600,000 billboards controlled by over 60,000 owners.

"Our diversified advertising platform has become China's largest outdoor advertising supermarket that meets the needs of a wide range of advertisers. It is a breakthrough from traditional, single-location billboard advertising with little flexibility," said TSM President He Jilun.

China's outdoor advertising market witnessed average annual growth of 20 per cent over the past five year, becoming the fastest growing part of the nation's advertising sector.

Statistics show that the outdoor advertising sector accounted for 14 per cent of last year's total advertising revenue.

Carlyle will only invest in the leading company in any given industry in China, such as TSM, or in companies exhibiting great potential, said Tsou.

In May, Carlyle's Asia Growth Capital Group spent 230 million yuan (US$29.1 million) buying shares in Shanghai Anxin Flooring Co Ltd, China's largest manufacturer and distributor of solid wood flooring.

Last month, Carlyle agreed to cut the stake it sought in Xugong Group Construction Machinery Co Ltd from 85 to 50 per cent.

The company had offered US$375 million for an 85 per cent stake in Xugong in October last year, which would have been the biggest foreign acquisition of a controlling stake in a leading State-owned company in China.

Source: China Daily